I have received a few questions; people asked about meditation over messages,
I would like to summarize them in this article.
What do you need to meditate?
There is absolutely nothing you need to meditate, except your own self.
It’s a matter of commitment and practice.
No meditation mats, no expensive essential oils, no external decoration will help you in the path of meditation.
All you need is your own self and a quiet place.
Because if the place you are choosing to meditate is noisy, it will be tough to focus on the inside.
So just a quiet place with no sound and with some fresh air will help you to settle in much more peacefully.
Reducing the clutter around you physically and mentally will also help you meditate better. As much as you let go of physical and mental attachment you will be more free and meditation will come easy.
But there are methods to build awareness where you listen to a teacher’s voice or a soothing music; but remember that is developing awareness and only with a one pointed awareness we can go into a meditative state. It’s only a means to meditation.
Is meditation controlling my thoughts?
No. This is where we need to listen to ourselves. How many times have you been successful in controlling your thoughts? And why you think thoughts need to be controlled?
If that’s not it, what is meditation?
I am not sure who said this but this very relevant to this question,
“Meditation is not letting your thoughts control you”
Boom!
You have an answer.
But what does that mean?
We always are driven by our thoughts, like we act from them. The more we are driven by them we don’t identify ourselves as awareness and rather identify ourselves as thoughts.
All our senses give rise to different thoughts that leads to a new desire and by satisfying them a new thought and goes on and on.
Desire is a drive to satisfy our senses through the thoughts by actions. So, the more you go with satisfying desires you are multiplying the thoughts and you are becoming all of them.
What does acting from the space “I am” or pure awareness do when compare to acting from thoughts?
Let’s say, you are awareness and you act from there. So, you can develop a detached attachment to your thoughts;
You are stepping back to the root of who you are – you won’t identify with all the thoughts so you don’t end up satisfying each desire; so, the thoughts do not multiply and you know what is important in your life, and you will precisely act only on that. It doesn’t just reduce your thoughts, but, you will be extremely aware of everything around you.
The subtle energies, the solutions; the problems; what the people want of you, and all the choices you can choose from.
You can make better decisions.
And you will spend your energy from the most important to the least with absolute awareness.
“Quieter your mind gets; louder is your intuition”.
So, the answer to the question is act from the space of awareness your thoughts don’t get enough energy to drive you crazy and you can pick and choose which is the most relevant and which resonates with your inner truth or purpose in life.
Now the game is on; and you are winning.
100 million thoughts have become a handful. you can pick and choose what you want.
Do you see you are not controlling them, rather can we say training them?
The thoughts cannot control you anymore.
Let’s try this.
It’s not easy; it takes more practice and energy. so, don’t be disappointed if this seems impossible.
Go back to practice the breath awareness or use sound.
Make your practice strong and there is no way but forward.
How do we do this?
How to be aware of our thoughts?
To do that – you must separate thought from you as an object.
Now you are the subject and thought is the object of your awareness.
Like you watched the breath- because it was physical it was easy to separate and be present. But thought is mental so it’s subtle. it is tricky to separate it from the place of awareness and direct your awareness only on watching them rather than being them.
If this confuse you; very good – this is where it gets interesting.
Stay and watch like you watch a movie. It is a roller coaster ride.
Stay present go back to your breath and come back to your thoughts watch them as they drag you from politics to food in a flash of a second.
Don’t give them any of your energy just watch them.
When you watch a movie; Will you get up and fight when an actor is fighting? No, you sit there and watch him fight.
it’s the same when your thoughts are driving you everywhere just watch them.
Try this for 5- 10 mins today. Set an alarm for 5 mins and see how you go.
All the best.
On an other note i am thinking about compiling this as an ebook.
Let see what the universe wants. but, tell me what you want in the book.
what would you like to know about?
In the next article, I will discuss about what happens after watching these thoughts and when you are present in pure “I am “
I will share my experience until then meditate and find for yourself.
